Student-led Estuary Science

Conceptually, a benefit of implementing a living shoreline is that they can protect or restore intertidal vegetation and result in the recruitment of oysters—both being ecosystem engineers, which are biota that can directly or indirectly change their physical environment. For example, oysters and marsh grasses can facilitate increases in vertical elevation by trapping sediment, reducing wave energy, and producing organic matter that enables salt marsh ecosystems to remain resilient to external pressures, such as storms and sea level rise. Because of this, living shorelines appear to be and are often promoted as mechanisms that improve resiliency. This two-year 2019-2021 student-led study seeks to: quantifying the ecosystem functions of estuarine shoreline stabilization decisions by comparing living shorelines to unaltered, natural control shorelines. It is critical that we explore the implications of living shorelines on biogeomorphology to justify their installation as forms of restoration and shoreline stabilization, particularly as these projects age; clarifying their relevance as a strategy to build resiliency. This study will begin to explore if living shorelines are able to keep pace with natural and anthropogenic forcing, such as global climate change and sea level rise, by influencing horizontal and vertical marsh development.